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EastEnders is like the Hokey Cokey these days. Cast members are in and out like nobody’s business. In order to shake the series up, firm Walford favourites Michelle, Martin, Lisa and Sonya Fowler have all returned of late, and Big Mo and Kat Slater are on their way. Tanya Branning made a Christmas comeback just in time to see daughters Abi and Lauren plunge to their possible deaths, and who could forget the magnificent return of Kathy Beale, swiftly followed by her evil rapist - and perhaps the soap’s most loathed character - James Willmott-Brown. They just need to resurrect the ghost of Wellard and bring Martine McCutcheon’s Tiffany back from the dead and it’ll be the Perfect Moment.

Continuing the trend, this Tuesday’s duff-duff cliffhanger moment was given to Tamzin Outhwaite as Mel Owen, returning to the Square after a 16-year absence. She had just 14 seconds to make her mark. Skulking through the night and slipping through the doors of The Archers garage, she approached Ben Mitchell. “Nice to be back…” she said, with very little enthusiasm, to someone who was barely out of nappies when Mel left the soap in 2002.

Outhwaite’s much-publicised return wasn’t in the same league as Kathy Comes Home, when Gillian Taylforth shocked viewers by popping up in the show’s 30th anniversary episode, nor did it have the same frisson as Letitia Dean returning as Sharon Mitchell in 2001 and stupefying former mother-in-law Peggy when she revealed herself to be the new owner of the Queen Vic pub.

Tamzin Outhwaite is back in EastEnders after 16 years away from the soapCredit:
BBC

But no matter, the character of Mel promises much drama - just expect her new storyline to bubble, rather than blow. Tonight's episode - in which she appeared fully - set things up nicely, linking her with the New Year’s Day heist that saw Danny Dyer’s Mick Carter shot and left the young Mitchell lad in possession of a suitcase of stolen loot.

Nevertheless, Outhwaite’s comeback stint will be hard-pushed to match her original one, which was during a golden era for the show. Who could forget that notorious episode on New Year's Eve in 1999 when Mel married the snivelling Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt)? While the residents of Albert Square rang in the Millennium, Mel faced up to Ian for lying about his daughter’s cancer. As the clock struck midnight, Ian could only stand and blubber - and watch alongside 20.89 million viewers - as his new wife, dressed as matrimonial Snow Queen, jilted him on their wedding day.

Outhwaite was also involved in the Who Shot Phil Mitchell? storyline of 2001, a time when the soap was so popular that the Uefa Cup semi-final was postponed for 15 minutes to accommodate a 40-minute special edition of the programme. It was a year later that Mel was last seen on screen: pregnant and fleeing to Portugal with £30,000 of Phil Mitchell’s bail money after being framed by new husband Steve Owen’s (Martin Kemp) for drug smuggling.

"I'm not sure what was left for Mel to do after she had been kidnapped, married twice, burnt down a club and slept with her best friend's husband,” Outhwaite commented on her 2002 departure. But it’s clear that Mel’s motives for arriving back run way deeper than a friendly visit, and with links to most of the cast, it’s quite fitting that she should have a central role in the current action.

Hers has been quite the journey, from sweet vicar’s sister to East End crime boss; such is the fate of many of a soap siren. However her hardwoman image was drummed home a little too forcefully in this returning episode, as Mel was frequently seen peering out from behind tree trunks and lurking on every corner of the Square.

There was also an encounter with the weasely Ian and mother Kathy in the cafe, when her former hubby shunned a phone call from wife number four in order to drool over wife number two. “You really do look amazing,” said Ian, seeming to have forgotten all previous humiliation. Mel, meanwhile, only had eyes for the diamond necklace strung around Kathy’s neck: a gift from son Ben, putting him straight on Mel’s hit list.

While it’s still not clear what involvement Mel has with the stolen goods and how she’s going to use her existing connections to assist their recovery, this will hopefully be a storyline for Outhwaite to get stuck into. In her previous incarnation, Mel was eventually overshadowed by her screen husband Steve Owen, and denied meaty plotlines. Now's her time for revenge...